Is male birth control around the corner? No. Samantha Michaels explains. -Erika If youre a woman whos ever been on birth control, youre probably familiar with the torture of trying to find the type that suits your body (and your budget), the nail-biting nights when youve forgotten your pills across town, the mood swings, the libido dips, and a whole host of other side effects. Isnt it about time men shoulder some of this burden? For nearly a century, weve had reason to believe that the pill for men might be possible: In the 1920s, scientists discovered how to control sperm production in rats by manipulating their pituitary glands, and in the 1990s the World Health Organization published evidence that hormonal interventions to regulate fertility in men could be effective and reversible. But two decades later, researchers say they still dont have enough funding to produce a male version of the pill, even as drug companies continue to pump money into the already mature market for female contraceptives (and a private foundation set aside $75 million in 2008 to find a non-surgical way to sterilize cats and dogs.) By now, weve figured out how to develop cars that can drive themselves and bionic eyes that allow the blind to see light. Why is it taking so long to figure out how to regulate sperm? Luckily, theres still hope. In September, a nonprofit foundation in California said it planned to begin clinical trials on a male contraceptive gel next year. And just this month, researchers at a prominent university in Indonesia told the GlobalPost that theyve pinpointed a non-hormonal, herbal form of male birth control that was 99 percent effective in early clinical trials—the same success rate as hormonal birth control for women. Sounds good, but ladies, before you flush your pills down the toilet, read on. Theres still a fair amount of work to do before this remedy, or any other product, can hit the market in the United States.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 00:38:00 +0000
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